MANHATTAN, Kan. – A new era of Kansas State women’s basketball opened on Monday night, as a group of newcomers led the Wildcats to an 85-64 exhibition win over Washburn at Bramlage Coliseum.

Freshman Leticia Romero led four Wildcats in double figures, as she tallied 25 points, 12 rebounds and four steals – all team highs –, while also dishing out four assists in just 26 minutes of play. Romero was 7-of-10 from the field and was 10-of-11 from the free throw line.

Joining Romero in double figures were sophomore Haley Texada who added 15 points and freshmen Kelly Thomson and Erica Young, who recorded 14 and 10 points, respectively. Texada registered 22 double digit scoring games in 2012-13. Thomson and Young paced a K-State bench that tallied 31 points for the night.

The Ichabods were paced by junior forward Honor Duvall, who powered her way to 16 points off the bench. Junior guard Casyn Buchman was the only other Washburn player in double figures as she carded 13 points.

After the opening nine minutes of the game saw the two teams tied at 11 apiece, K-State used a 10-0 scoring run to jump out to a 21-11 lead with just over nine minutes left in the opening half. Washburn countered with a 10-0 run of their own to even the game at 21-21. The Wildcats responded by closing out the first half by outscoring the Ichabods, 19-7, to enter the break with a 40-28 lead.

After the two teams traded baskets to start the second half, K-State used a 19-4 run to stretch its lead to 23 points, 67-44, with nine and a half minutes left to play, as Texada tallied her second 3-point field goal of the game. Again, the Wildcats and Ichabods went back and forth for the remainder of the final stanza. Washburn would cut the K-State deficit to 17 points with just over a minute to go but four-consecutive free throws from Romero closed out the contest for K-State.

K-State will also host Alaska-Anchorage on Friday at 5:45 p.m., as part of a women’s and men’s exhibition basketball doubleheader that night. Friday’s game is part of a “Wildcat Weekend,” as fans can purchase a general admission ticket for just $3 when showing your K-State men’s basketball ticket from that evening’s game against Pittsburg State. For ticket information, contact the K-State Athletics ticket office at (800) 221-CATS or visit www.kstatesports.com/tickets.